Mine



Feb. 5, 1935. F. 1.. YOUNG 1,989,838

MINE

File y 1 1924 :5 She ets-Sheet 1 Feb. 5,1935. L YOUNG 1,989,888

MINE

Filed May 19, 1924 3 Sheets-Shet 2 Feb. 5, 1935.

F. 1.. YOUNG 1,989,838 1 MINE Filed May 19, 1924 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 an ucnfoz Patented Feb. 5, 19 35 MINE Frank L. .Yonng, .Washington; D'. 0., assignor 10.. the Government of the United States,,represented by the Secretary of the Navy Application Mayg -w,1924, Serial No. 714,239

' 2. Claim s. (01. 102-3) This invention relates to improvements in minesandmore particularly to what is-known a's}drifting or pursuit rnines. V i r I In naval operationsit is frequently" desirable to launch a plurality of mines in the wake of type. 50

a vessel being pursued which will assume a predetermined depthbelow the surface of the sea thereby to be engaged by the pursuing ship and destroy the same. It is essential that the mine should be well below the water level and invisible to the look-outs on the pursuing ship.

Considerable difficulty has been experienced in obtaining a mine of vthis character which will automatically assume a predetermined depth below the surface of the water and the present invention has, for one of its objects, the provi-. sion of automatic self calibrating means for controlling the buoyancy of the mine whereby it will occupy the desired position.

A further object of .the invention is to provide amechanism particularlyapplicable to mines of the above character which will be accurate, reliable and eflicient in use and operation.

A further object is to provide a mechanism of the above character which may be easily and quickly applied to standard mine equipment withat right angles to Figure 2.

Figure 4 is an enlarged detail view of a portion of the actuating mechanism, and,

Figure 5 is a diagrammatic View showing the mine submerged in operative position.

Referring now to the drawings in detail, 10 indicates the usual spherical mine case of standard construction provided with a central aperture 11 adapted to contain firing gear 12 of any desired Surrounding this chamber is the buoyancy tank 13 adapted to be partially filled with water under-pressure by connecting a hose to a nipple 15 and opening valve 16. A connection 17 extends approximately to the bottom of the buoyancy tank whereby when the mechanism hereinafter described is actuated the water 14 may be forcedout of the buoyancy chamberto-vary the buoyancy of the mine as desired a This mechanism will appear-more clear from Figure 4. Mounted upon suitable brackets '20 secured to. the mine caseis a support 2l carrying a ,rod 22provided wth collars 23 and 24 between which collars and a central stud 25 is a coiled spring 25. Mounted upon the stud 25 isa rocker arm 29 provided with hooks 28 and 30 adapted to coact with rollers 31 and. 32 on the collars 23 and 24. This rocker member 2915 provided with a laterally extending arm 33 carrying a plate 34 at its end as shown more clearly in Figure 5. v t

A pipe 36 communicates with the pipe 17 as shown in Figure 2 and is provided at its end with a connection 38 constituting a valve. seat and water outlet 40. A valve 41 is normally held in engagement with the valve seat by means of a spiral spring 42 which reacts against a nut 43 at the end of the valve stem 44. This valve retains the water in the buoyancy or ba last tank 13 until opened whereupon the water is ejected through the pipe 36 and outlet to increase the buoyancy of the mine.

The mine is provided as shown in Figure 5 with an antenna 45 provided with two floats 46 and 47.

In operating'the mine sufiicient water, that is, 25 to 100 pounds, is forced into the ballast chamber under pressure to sing the mine at desired velocity with attached buoys when thrown overboard or released from a submarine. Air is also forced into this chamber through the same connection up to approximately one hundred pounds to the square inch.

As soon as the mine has gained a little velocity as it sinks the water resistance on the vane 34 forces it upwardly. This lifts the hook 28 from the roller 31 and the spring 26 causes the rod 22 to move towards the right thereby opening the valve 41. With the valve open the air presure in the ballast tank immediately begins to force water out through the pipe 36 and outlets 40 and continues to do so until the velocity of the sinking mine has come to zero or until it begins to rise whereupon the weight of the vane 34 together with a slight downward water pressure thereon causes an actuation of the rocker 29 to release the hook 30 from roller 32 thereby allowing the spring 26 to expand relieving the pressure upon the'valve stem 44 by the rod. 22 and the spring 42 will thereupon close the valve 44 to prevent a further discharge of water from the ballast tank. In sinking the mine draws the floats below the water surface, adding sufficient buoyancy to assist the mine to rise. When the uppermost float reaches the surface, however, a portion of the added buoyancy is removed permitting the mine to come to rest at the desired. depth.

In this manner the mine is calibrated with the desired buoyancy to come to rest with the lower float 46 below the surface of the water and theupper float just resting on the surface.

It will thus be seen that the present invention contemplates a simple and practical mechanism for automatically calibrating a mine of the above general character.

While I do not wish to be limited to this exact application of the invention, for it is obvious that it could be applied to other uses, I have mere- 1y described this application as a preferred embodiment.

Also while I have indicated and described two floats in connection with a mine, this arrangement is not essential, for the mine will operate with one float but perhaps not as accurately and reliably as with the construction shown.

What I claim is:

1. In combination with a member having a ballast tank containing fluid under pressure,

means for bringing said member to rest at a predetermined depth below the water level, a discharge pipe from said ballast tank, a valve in said pipe, means adapted to open said valve as said member sinks to permit a discharge of ballast and means adapted to close the valve after said member changes from a negative to a positive buoyancy, said means comprising a spring actuated rod and rocker member actuated by the resistance of the water thereon as the member sinks for releasing said rod to permit movement in one direction and subsequently releasing said rod at another point to permit movement in the opposite direction.

2. In combination with a member having a ballast tank containing ,fluid under pressure, means for bringing said member to rest at a predetermined depth below the water level including a valve leading to the ballast tank adapted to open and close and means controlled by the direction of movement of said member for opening said valve on movement in one direction and to close the valve on movement in they opposite direction and a float for controlling the depth of final submergence.

FRANK L. YOUNG. 

